


Green Pen

by kay_emm_gee



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arrow, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Arrow AU, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2015-05-02
Packaged: 2018-03-28 17:46:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3863995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kay_emm_gee/pseuds/kay_emm_gee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After returning to Ark City after five years of being thought dead, Nathan Miller has kept his vigilante identity hidden from his family, his friends, the media, and even the police, but somehow he can’t bring himself to come up with a plausible excuse when he brings his bullet hole-ridden laptop to his company’s whiz IT guy, Monty Green, whose bright smiles are more than a bit distracting.</p><p>Or, the Minty Arrow AU one-shot that was just too temping to not write.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Green Pen

Though the IT department of Miller Industries was on a much lower floor than the bigwigs’ offices, Nathan couldn’t help notice that the same tense silence pervaded the atmosphere even down here. It was stunning, really, what the return of the presumed-dead heir to the company could do to morale, what with the suspected ownership battle that the media kept predicting. Not that Nathan cared whether he got back control of his father’s business, because his new mission in life didn’t include expensive suits and briefcases, firm handshakes and signed contracts.

There was no time any of that, not when his city needed saving. Besides, getting blood out of a suit was damn difficult, not to mention not a very good way to conceal his identity. No, the hood was much better for that purpose.

Nathan supposed the floors of the building wouldn’t be quite so silent if they knew how he really spent his nights. The rest of the city was in an uproar about ‘The Vigilante’ bringing the fat cats of Ark City to justice, and their cries would become deafening if they found out he, the surmised playboy of the city, was the police department’s newest ‘most wanted’. For now though, the building was as quiet as a graveyard, or at least everywhere but the office at the end of the hall Nathan was walking down at a clipped pace, with the damaged computer tucked under his arm.

The door of the office he sought was propped slightly open, and a soft, murmuring voice carried out into the hall. Raising his hand to knock, he paused, listening with amusement at the random mutterings of Monty Green, resident IT whiz and plant enthusiast (or so the post-it next to his name plaque read, signed with the initials JJ). When there was no answer, Nathan slowly pushed the door open, revealing a man with a green polo shirt and mop of black hair slumped over in his swivel chair, back to the door, and talking to the phone sitting on the desk in front of him.

“You can’t change the loop if the code won’t cooperate, O. It’s basic comp sci,” the guy said, his voice sounding oddly garbled.

“Monty, please? Just walk me through it again,” another voice, that of a woman, echoed from the phone on the desk. “Bell will murder me if I don’t fix his computer, especially because I didn’t ask his permission to borrow it.”

“Well, at least I’ll know what happened if you suddenly go missing. Though your brother is a scary dude, O, not to mention on the police force. Not sure who I’d report your absence to, not if I want to save my own life.”

“You’re a great friend,” the girl on the phone said sarcastically. “Really, so glad you have my back.”

“Hey, survival of the fittest. Anyways, I told you I’d come by after work and check the problem out, if you’d just be patient.”

“Fine, but remember me fondly after Bell kills me. And don’t let Jasper write my eulogy. It’d be way too sappy, and I want at least a few people laughing at my funeral.”

“Roger that, O. See you later.”

After the girl wished him a cheerful goodbye, Nathan watched as Monty hung up the call with a quick tap and spun around, his mouth dropping open when he realized Nathan was standing in the doorway. The pen that had been in his mouth dropped to the floor, clattering against the sleek tile. When no words came out, just a sharp intake of breath, Nathan had to suppress a smile.

“Monty Green?” He asked evenly, though a hint of amusement laced his tone at the shocked expression on the IT guy’s face. A very attractive face, if he was one to notice that sort of thing.

The old Nathan would’ve not only noticed, but done something about it; now, though, he couldn’t afford that type of distraction. Still, the earnest way Monty scrambled to pick up the pen while simultaneously apologizing for taking a personal call on the job made him feel at ease, something he didn’t come by often. So, maybe he couldn’t help himself watching the way Monty twirled the pen nervously through his fingers and back again, sending it whirling repeatedly over his knuckles.

He also couldn’t help himself from correcting the guy, saying, “Mr. Miller was my father. Call me Nathan.”

“Oh, okay, gotcha,” Monty said. “And I’m sorry. For you loss. It must be hard, losing your father. I mean, it’s been a while, because technically, you lost him five years ago. When he drowned, on that boat. Where you almost died too – but you didn’t. Which means today you could down to the IT department. And listen to me…babble.”

Nathan just stared at Monty, feeling an odd sense of delight at his lack of filter. After having practically everyone tiptoe around him since he’d been back, hearing someone talk to him like this was surprisingly refreshing.

Though he supposed, from the redness creeping up Monty’s face, it wasn’t exactly a comfortable interaction for him.

“And I’m still babbling,” he continued, pushing his chair back and giving the desk an embarrassed tap with the pen still in his hand. “Which will end in three, two—”

“I need help with my laptop,” Nathan interjected kindly, wanting to cut the guy some slack.

A hopeful look flashed in Monty’s eyes, and Nathan smiled at the enthusiastic way he held out his hands for the computer. The hopeful expression morphed back into shock when Nathan passed over the laptop, which was riddled with bullet holes.

“I was at a coffee shop doing some work and I split a latte on it.”

Monty snorted in disbelief, and Nathan pressed his lips together, barely holding back a smile.

“Must be a homemade brew, if it was that acidic to eat through metal and wiring,” Monty replied dryly, looking up at him with raised eyebrows.

“Not great for the stomach, but has quite the caffeine kick to it,” Nathan bantered back, his pulse rising unexpectedly, feeling just a little bit pleased that finally someone wasn’t willing to write off his terrible excuses simply because he was Nathan Miller.

“Really? You’re sticking with that? Because these look like bullet holes, if I’m being completely honest.”

“My coffee shop is in a bad neighborhood.”

This time Nathan couldn’t hold back a grin when Monty cocked his head in disapproving admonishment, his eyes clearing saying  _that was weak, man, very weak._

“So can you salvage it, or should I take it somewhere else?” Nathan asked in an amused tone, letting out a laugh when Monty’s brow furrowed in almost-offended determination.

“I’ll have it back to you by the end of the day.”

“Perfect,” Nathan replied, his good mood fading as thoughts of why exactly he needed the computer fixed. The shooter was still out there, and he needed to figure out who the next target was, and soon.

As he turned to go, he nodded solemnly at Monty, who shot him a shy grin in return. Almost involuntarily, the corners of Nathan’s mouth turned up into a slight smile, and surprisingly, that smile stayed with him the rest of the day. It faded only when his responsibilities as the city’s protector finally caught up with him, because not even as bright a spot as Monty could completely outshine the darkness that awaited Nathan as he set off into the grimy streets, the hood on his head and his bow at his back, becoming the  _something else_  that his city needed to save it from itself. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on tumblr (kay-emm-gee)!


End file.
